When did young viewers start meaning more than old?

[Greg Cox]

How exactly you reach younger eyeballs is indeed a question to be grappled with, but giving up on younger viewers and programming for older folks instead is obviously not a long-term solution!

Sure it is. Everyone grows old no matter what.

But if you're saying that today's young people don't watch commercials, what make you think they'll start when they get older?

And why would tomorrow's advertisers want them once they got old anyway?

 

[RJDiogenes]

Can't believe I left South Park off a list of shows oriented at young people that criticize the status quo.

That's true. It's probably the only show that criticizes culture as mercilessly and as even-handedly as shows from the 60s and early 70s. You're certainly right about the current generation being progressive in name only.

 

[Vendikarr]

My point is younger people watching a TV show are not looking at the commercials, so no one is going to be seeing the products anyways.

I was in a conversation on another board about fast forwarding. We think there is a subliminal effect going on in commercials. They are using images to try and catch your eye, and a prominent display of logos. They want to make you stop.

And people tend to watch the TV more intently while fast forwarding because they don't want to miss the end of the commercials and the start of their program. If your commercial is designed correctly, you can successfully imprint your brand into the minds of impressionable consumers.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I can tell the difference between the 26+ year olds who didn't have all this tech, and the 22-24 year olds who did. It's scary.

That is the funny thing about being around this age. I'm 28, and there was a definite cultural cutoff point with the kids who were 4-5 years younger than me. My siblings are 24 and 25, and even they agree that I am in a different generation than they are. It's bizarre.

I've definitely noticed this as well, in fact I was just listening to a radio segment on it the other day. I'm 27 and those who are two or more years younger than me seem like they are from a different planet. We have little in common culturally. It seems like the cut off is those who were immersed in computers and the Internet before puberty, and those who were introduced to it after. We had some simple computers in elementary school (Oregon Trail!), but our family didn't get Internet until I was 13. So while the Internet dominated my teen years, my childhood at least was relatively computer-free. When I see 3 year olds playing with iPads now it worries me. Not sure why, it just doesn't feel right.

 

[Greg Cox]

I can tell the difference between the 26+ year olds who didn't have all this tech, and the 22-24 year olds who did. It's scary.

That is the funny thing about being around this age. I'm 28, and there was a definite cultural cutoff point with the kids who were 4-5 years younger than me. My siblings are 24 and 25, and even they agree that I am in a different generation than they are. It's bizarre.

I've definitely noticed this as well, in fact I was just listening to a radio segment on it the other day. I'm 27 and those who are two or more years younger than me seem like they are from a different planet. We have little in common culturally. It seems like the cut off is those who were immersed in computers and the Internet before puberty, and those who were introduced to it after. We had some simple computers in elementary school (Oregon Trail!), but our family didn't get Internet until I was 13. So while the Internet dominated my teen years, my childhood at least was relatively computer-free. When I see 3 year olds playing with iPads now it worries me. Not sure why, it just doesn't feel right.

Oh, you kids! There were NO computers or internet when I was growing up. I remember cutting out punchcards in high school once, but that was pretty much the extent of our "computer" education. And I managed to get through college without ever touching a computer as well.

Heck, when I first started working in publishing, back in the early eighties, all of the editors and assistants were still using electric typewriters. I was over thirty before computers and email and the internet started creeping into editorial offices . . ..

So, yeah, there's a definite chasm between folks who grew up with computers and those of us who are struggling to keep up with all this ever-changing technology.

(My college-age niece was horrified a few years back to discover that I had never texted anyone in my life! It was as though I had admitted to not knowing about fire or the wheel.)

 

[MacLeod]

There was no internet whilst I was at High School, though I did get whilst I was at college, though it was fairly basic then I remember using Mosaic as my web browser. Back in the early/mid ninties. Yes we had computers and I did computer studies at High School. But a lot of what I know about computers is self taught.

 

[bigdaddy]

My point is younger people watching a TV show are not looking at the commercials, so no one is going to be seeing the products anyways.

I was in a conversation on another board about fast forwarding. We think there is a subliminal effect going on in commercials. They are using images to try and catch your eye, and a prominent display of logos. They want to make you stop.

And people tend to watch the TV more intently while fast forwarding because they don't want to miss the end of the commercials and the start of their program. If your commercial is designed correctly, you can successfully imprint your brand into the minds of impressionable consumers.

I never thought of that, but that's a good point.

And I'm glad I'm not the only young person who is worried about the slightly younger.

I didn't even have a TV in my room until I was 13-14, used cheap ipod when I was 24, almost 25, and cell phone at almost 26.

I still hate cell phones, and very few people have my number.

 

[RoJoHen]

I didn't even have a TV in my room until I was 13-14,

I didn't have a TV in my room until I went to college and lived in a dorm, and I've never had one in my room since.

 

[RandyS]

That is the funny thing about being around this age. I'm 28, and there was a definite cultural cutoff point with the kids who were 4-5 years younger than me. My siblings are 24 and 25, and even they agree that I am in a different generation than they are. It's bizarre.

I've definitely noticed this as well, in fact I was just listening to a radio segment on it the other day. I'm 27 and those who are two or more years younger than me seem like they are from a different planet. We have little in common culturally. It seems like the cut off is those who were immersed in computers and the Internet before puberty, and those who were introduced to it after. We had some simple computers in elementary school (Oregon Trail!), but our family didn't get Internet until I was 13. So while the Internet dominated my teen years, my childhood at least was relatively computer-free. When I see 3 year olds playing with iPads now it worries me. Not sure why, it just doesn't feel right.

Oh, you kids! There were NO computers or internet when I was growing up. I remember cutting out punchcards in high school once, but that was pretty much the extent of our "computer" education. And I managed to get through college without ever touching a computer as well.

Heck, when I first started working in publishing, back in the early eighties, all of the editors and assistants were still using electric typewriters. I was over thirty before computers and email and the internet started creeping into editorial offices . . ..

So, yeah, there's a definite chasm between folks who grew up with computers and those of us who are struggling to keep up with all this ever-changing technology.

(My college-age niece was horrified a few years back to discover that I had never texted anyone in my life! It was as though I had admitted to not knowing about fire or the wheel.)

Heh. I'm a good decade younger than you (I think, anyway, I'm 43.) and my high school made a BIG deal out of the fact that they were going to let the students use typewriters for the first time. Computers were for teachers and office staff only back then.

And this was 1986.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The 18-35 demo being the one with the most disposable income (and, therefore, the key demographic) has been true since the 1950s. It's increased even more over time as people began to marry later, but there's no clear point in time.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

My point is younger people watching a TV show are not looking at the commercials, so no one is going to be seeing the products anyways.

I was in a conversation on another board about fast forwarding. We think there is a subliminal effect going on in commercials. They are using images to try and catch your eye, and a prominent display of logos. They want to make you stop.

And people tend to watch the TV more intently while fast forwarding because they don't want to miss the end of the commercials and the start of their program. If your commercial is designed correctly, you can successfully imprint your brand into the minds of impressionable consumers.

I just hope they never block the 30 second skip button code I hacked into my DVR. In fact, it might almost get me to quit watching TV so maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Though I do wonder what future generations will watch. My nephew and niece spend a lot of time just watching Minecraft music videos on Youtube (which I would've otherwise never knew existed).

 

[Harvey]

The 18-35 demo being the one with the most disposable income (and, therefore, the key demographic) has been true since the 1950s. It's increased even more over time as people began to marry later, but there's no clear point in time.

And the networks and studios identifying that ratings demographic is not a new phenomenon, either. I've seen some research which suggests TOS was kept on the air at least in part because it reached this key demographic (contrary to the myth, which asserts the opposite). Certainly, by the 1970s, reaching the 18-49 demographic was a key part of the renewal calculations being made by the three broadcast networks.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, there's no question TOS was for that demo. Hell, Chekov's character exists because of this crowd.

 

[Greg Cox]

Though I do wonder what future generations will watch. My nephew and niece spend a lot of time just watching Minecraft music videos on Youtube (which I would've otherwise never knew existed).

Who knows? After all, my parents and grandparents listened to radio dramas growing up. Who knows what the big entertainment media will be a few generations from now?

 

[jayceee]

Who knows what the big entertainment media will be a few generations from now?

Holodecks?